Why do some people queue rather than use a TVM?

I regularly see people in fairly long queues at ticket offices, often in danger of missing the train they're after, when there is a TVM standing there unused. Whiost it could be that some want to pay with cash or a RTV, or wish to buy an Advance ticket, from the transactions I over hear when walking past, most are just buying day returns snd paying by card.

WHy do a significant number of peoole appantly prefer to queue rather than use a TVM?

Ticket machine in my local station doesn't/didn't dispense the PTE return ticket to Manchester I use. Was stupid, you could buy a ticket practically anywhere but not to the nearest city, there were no Manchester stations in its destination list.

TVMs are often built to a "Universal Height" in order to be accessible to wheelchair users. Unfortunately this can result in politically acceptable discrimination against taller people who may have to kneel to use the machine or those with mobility issues that prevent them from reaching the dispense area or even seeing the screen properly - so they use the counter instead.

Then there are the cheap(er) walk-up tickets you can't buy from the machine.

I regularly see people in fairly long queues at ticket offices, often in danger of missing the train they're after, when there is a TVM standing there unused. Whiost it could be that some want to pay with cash or a RTV, or wish to buy an Advance ticket, from the transactions I over hear when walking past, most are just buying day returns snd paying by card.

WHy do a significant number of peoole appantly prefer to queue rather than use a TVM?

Click to expand...

Nothing like that at a busy station. At St Albans, with the TVM queues 5+ long and four or five windows open, it can often be quicker to go to the rear of a 20-long queue for the windows where generally the staff can tell what the passenger wants from whatever description they give, rather than wait behind someone who a) doesn't know what they want, b) doesn't know how to operate the TVM and/or c) fumbles around looking for the right cash or their credit card. (Then they sometimes walk away leaving the return half ticket in the bin.)

I regularly see people in fairly long queues at ticket offices, often in danger of missing the train they're after, when there is a TVM standing there unused. Whiost it could be that some want to pay with cash or a RTV, or wish to buy an Advance ticket, from the transactions I over hear when walking past, most are just buying day returns snd paying by card.

WHy do a significant number of peoole appantly prefer to queue rather than use a TVM?

Click to expand...

Because they prefer to deal with HUMAN BEINGS, not machines.

Presumably similar to why Morrison's supermarket today took full page adverts in the Guardian saying they are reintroducing manned "basket" tills in their shops.

It's the opposite at some stations... queues for the TVM/s and two or three counter staff sitting twiddling their thumbs.

Have to say that some of them have made a rod for their own back by insisting people use the TVMs to collect Advance tickets, even when there's a queue for it and they aren't busy with other customers.

I regularly see people in fairly long queues at ticket offices, often in danger of missing the train they're after, when there is a TVM standing there unused. Whiost it could be that some want to pay with cash or a RTV, or wish to buy an Advance ticket, from the transactions I over hear when walking past, most are just buying day returns snd paying by card.

WHy do a significant number of peoole appantly prefer to queue rather than use a TVM?

Click to expand...

People buying day returns may well be occasional rail users who are not familiar with TVMs.

Presumably similar to why Morrison's supermarket today took full page adverts in the Guardian saying they are reintroducing manned "basket" tills in their shops.

Click to expand...

At Tesco they always have a member of staff helping people who have problems with the self service tills, they might just as well be on an ordinary till, I've even been accosted by Tesco staff trying to coerce me into using the self service tills, another waste of staff.

Is fear of the complexity of the ticketing system part of the reason too?

If you go to the counter and state your requirements and are sold a ticket which turns out to be invalid for your return journey you can argue that the railway is at fault. If you buy the wrong ticket from a TVM it's your fault.

As to the supermarkets, I have to say that Morrisons have the worst self checkouts of the lot. You can't open the carrier bag without it complaining of an unexpected item in the bagging area and locking up until a member of staff resets it. Which is particularly convenient in an M Local where there are only 2 staff in the entire shop.

And don't get me started on Asda calling theirs the "Fast Lane" - I don't get quite how waiting for the muppet in front of you who hasn't got a clue what they are doing, scanning and packing your stuff then waiting for a member of staff to come and OK your booze purchase is faster than a trained till operator with you helping to pack.

At Kings Cross very long queues often form for some of the TVMs, while other TVMs nearby have no queue at all. I doubt all of those people are buying the few tickets that only one brand of TVM sells. They could really do with some staff directing people to the other machines.

Sometimes it can be a case of "out of sight, out of mind". Having entered Colwyn Bay station, the ticket desk is ahead of you, whereas the TVM is hiddden behind the door. I often forget that it exists.

I've given up on the ATM at Bolton trying to accept my £10 notes, so I just head directly to the counter.

How do you stand if you are in an unmanned station with an ATM and find the only cash you have (notes and not enough change) isn't accepted by the flaming thing?? Hapily that's not happened to me yet, but one day.....:cry:

If a TOC introduced a TVM for its staff to use when selling to the public there would be training on how to use it. But when the things are introduced for the public to use there's no training and we're expected to work it all out for ourselves.

Some less-frequently used functions are hard to find. That's a reason for wanting to speak to a person who knows what to do and where to find things.

When I wanted to go from Overton to Heathrow, using the Railair coach from Woking, the machine offered me a price which clearly failed to take account of my senior railcard. This is apparently because it hasn't been programmed to be able to calculate the discounted price on the train as far as Woking and add that to the non-discounted coach fare. I correctly guessed that my best bet was to buy the discounted train ticket to Woking and then pay separately for the coach. A person in a booking office can tell you that - as the clerk did at Woking, telling me it was cheapest to buy from the coach driver.

I avoid self-service supermarket check-outs if I possibly can. I hate the patronising and nagging tone of the voice. If I have to use one I always ask for help.

I regularly see people in fairly long queues at ticket offices, often in danger of missing the train they're after, when there is a TVM standing there unused. Whiost it could be that some want to pay with cash or a RTV, or wish to buy an Advance ticket, from the transactions I over hear when walking past, most are just buying day returns snd paying by card.

WHy do a significant number of peoole appantly prefer to queue rather than use a TVM?

Click to expand...

Because some people don't like using machines. I'm one of them. I don't like self-check outs in supermarkets and I don't like auto paying in machines in banks either. Some people like technology, I don't and I'm not alone.